Betty Pooch left the world today.
Some of you have become fans of Betty, following her story with me this past month. For those who didn't know her, you can find out more in my diary of a couple of days ago. To quickly recap, I found her a little over a month ago, unable to walk and in pain; she had probably been hit by a car. Her most serious injuries were a broken pelvis and torn ligaments in her leg. She had surgery twelve days ago to repair her pelvis and immediately had more appetite and much less pain. She was skinny so I was feeding her Ensure, as well as actual food, building up her strength for the next surgery which would repair her ligaments.
She was doing well, all the normal functions of eating, peeing, and pooping were fine and her surgery site was free of infection. Her body was putting on a bit more weight and she no longer gave the occasional yelp when being set down. The prognosis was for an eventual full recovery of her mobility after the next surgery.
Today, she gave a bit of whine as she always would to let me know she wanted something: go outside to pee or poop or have a bite to eat (or drink, because she really, really loved that Ensure!). Either way, we would always go outside on the grass: if she needed to pee, that was a better place to do it than on her bed and if not then she could dine al fresco and enjoy a bit of scenery outside.
So I gently laid her down on the grass to see if peeing was the need of the moment. She started to move as if she was adjusting her body to get the aim right (down into the grass instead of on her leg) then she suddenly gasped three times and was gone. It literally happened in a minute or less.
It was shockingly quick. I haven't spoken to the vet (tomorrow, I just can't deal with talking in real life about it yet) but my guess is that she probably had a blood clot or something that caused a sudden heart attack. Even if the vet had been standing beside us, it was too fast for her to have been able to do anything. The consolation is that she didn't linger and suffer and she died with someone touching her who loved her. Considering all that she had been through in her brief life, I hope that that counts for something—the past month, Betty knew she was loved and cared for and would never be abandoned again.
I will miss her. It's not just that my life has revolved around taking care of her (a dog who can't stand or walk really does require a great deal of time and attention) so suddenly I will be at loose ends. I will also be missing our future together, my hopes and dreams that one day she would run and play with me and her new brothers and sisters and live the life she deserved instead of the broken promises and broken body that she had been given.
Betty may be gone now but I will never forget her.
Farewell, Betty. I won't say rest in peace because you so patiently rested for an entire month, a hard thing for a young little dog to do. If there is a Dog then now you are running and chasing balls and fetching sticks, all of those simple doggy joys which we never had a chance to do together.
Know that every time that Xica, Rajah, Einstein, Puqa and I walk along the river, I will be missing you and wishing that one day you would have been able to join us. May you lie down in the softest of grasses that will give you the lifetime of caresses you would have received from my hands.
Tuesday, Jan 12, 2016 · 12:53:03 AM +00:00
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Krotor
A big hug and thank you to all of you for your kind thoughts and comments. When Betty was still fighting the good fight, to walk and play and run again, it was inspiring that so many of you, who only knew her through her photos and my writings, cared and were cheering her on.
Now that Betty has run on ahead, I can't even express how comforting it has been to read your generous and goodhearted comments. I'm finally going to try to eat something now but I will be back later. Please be assured that I will read and treasure every one of your comments, even if I don't acknowledge them immediately because I'm eating or sleeping a bit later (it's much later in Argentina than the U.S.).